Erick Silva expects to be back in action by March

UFC 156 lost out on a solid scrap when Brazilian welterweight Erick Silva went down in training, losing his spot against Jay Hieron to former Strikeforce fighter Tyron Woodley. Though the health-related removal of Silva was unfortunate, it appears the 28-year old won’t be shelved for an extended period of time and should see action this spring.

According to comments captured by MMAJunkie, Silva expects to be ready to fight again at some point in March. The UFC currently has two cards scheduled for the month including UFC on Fuel 8 in Japan (3/3) and UFC 158 in Montreal (3/16).

“I am in great pain when training. Doctors instructed me to train lighter, and as there are only four weeks to the fight on February 2, I knew I would not be 100 percent until the day of the fight,” said Silva on his decision to pull out of the bout with Hieron. “It was a high-level fight, and I can not enter it while training at only 50 percent.”

When he does finally make his way back into the Octagon, Silva will be looking to bounce back from an October outpointing at the hands of Jon Fitch. He holds an overall career mark of 14-3 including eight TKOs and three submissions.